Changes

==Race Summary==

==What went well==* It was great to be part of a team, with some wonderful camaraderie and team spirit. The previous course record for a cumulative ultra team was 533 miles, and we broke that with over 800 miles. * My friend Charles acted as crew chief and did an outstanding job. With 12 of us on a 3.75 mile course he was always busy and provided practical and emotional support for all of us. My experience at Umstead [[Crewing an Ultra|watching the crews]] gave me insight into how to get the best out of Charles and his team of supporters. * Thinking of the 24 hours as a marathon equivalent, with each hour being a mile of the marathon helped me run a more strategic race. Thinking “it"it's 4 hours into the race which is the same as mile 4 of a marathon” marathon" helped me visualize how things were progressing. The only downside is that this knowledge was a little overwhelming at time. * Liberal use of moist wipes to have a virtual shower helped with the buildup of dirt and salt. It was warm, but not hot enough for the sweat to roll off, so salt accumulated along with the fine dirt. This is not only horribly uncomfortable, but it makes chaffing a bigger problem and also tends to block the pores. * I tried SportSheild lubricant for the first time on Jimbo's recommendation, first on some non-critical parts of the body, and later on my feet as well. Though SportShield contains the same basic ingredient (Dimethicone) as Hydropel, it seems to work much better.

 ==What went badly==* The biggest problem was re-blistering my heel. I'm concerned that this may become a permanent weak spot if I'm not careful. It's was seven weeks between blistering it the first time at Mount Mitchell and this race, which obviously was not long enough to heel fully, and this re-blistering will require longer due to the accumulation of damage. I may have to revisit my plans for the next 12 months to ensure I avoid any further trauma. * I really messed up the [[Practical Tapering|taper period]] for this race. I only decided to run the race 8 days before the start, but I typically only taper for about 5 days for an ultra, so it shouldn't have been a problem. However, I did an unusually tough workout the Saturday before that left me sore for the week. I was sore getting out of the car on the journey to Hampton, which was not a good sign. I used Charles' softball in the hotel the night before the race, and that seems to free things up. * Another failure of preparation was too little [[Heat Acclimation Training]]. Though the race was not particularly warm, I felt the effects more than I would have expected after running for an extended period. I wonder if the ability to compensate for the heat is reduced by exhaustion in the same way that cold compensation is.

* For some of the race, I noticed that I was [[Breathing]] a little more deeply than was normal for my [[Heart Rate]], and on [[Walking Breaks]] I felt a little light headed, as if my blood pressure was low. I'm not sure what the cause of this would be. * I took less [[Caffeine]] during the race than I would have on a normal work day, and I may have suffered from some [[Caffeine]] withdrawal. Sometimes I will come off [[Caffeine]] in the two weeks before a race to avoid this, but not this time. There is conflicting research on how exercise changes the rate of [[Caffeine]] metabolism, but I think that at low intensity the clearance rate is higher than normal and at high intensities, it is lower than normal.

==Details==